The present invention relates to an optoelectronic viewing system for imaging a field of view on a monitor, and more particularly to an optoelectronic viewing system of the type including a telescope for generating an optical image of the field of view, an image scanning device for repeated electronic scanning of the optical image, and an electronic evaluation unit for processing the scanned signals and displaying the image on the monitor.
Image scanning devices employed in these optoelectronic viewing systems, such as a thermal imaging or CCD (charge coupled device) camera, have a predetermined radiation receiving or detector surface to which the format of the image of a field of view produced by a telescope must be adapted. The number of detector elements forming the detector surface determines the quality of the image resolution. This image format and the focal length of the telescope determine its viewing angle. Viewing modules for military vehicles require long ranges with sufficiently high detail. Thus, the telescopes employed in such an application require long focal lengths which, of necessity, results in a great reduction of the viewing angle and thus of the field of view. Because of the small size relative to the overall scene of interest, the field of view that can be covered by the telescope is then no longer suitable for surveillance purposes, particularly not for the surveillance of fast flying objects which may have already left such a small field of view before they can be detected.